For too long, our writers’ hyper-specific arguments have been confined to the private corridors of the Internet. Welcome to The List, where we take their instant message bickerings, add a little polish, and make them public. Today, we make a case for who should fight Georges St-Pierre in his UFC comeback fight.

Ben Fowlkes: GSP was the most dominant welterweight champion in UFC or MMA history, so why are we seriously talking about any fight other than one for the welterweight title? That’s his belt, people. I mean, I know it’s actually not, but come on, you also know that it totally is. He didn’t lose it; he released it into the wild. And since then, holding onto it has been a struggle for all who’ve tried. If you want to be the man in that weight class, you need to beat the man.

Plus, isn’t this what we’re all wondering, whether St-Pierre could go away for so long and still come back and run things in his old division?

Related

Imagine him jumping right back in after more than three years away and snatching the UFC welterweight title right back. He’d be a legend, which he already is, but now he’d be king of the other legends. St-Pierre would get to sit at the head of the legends’ table. He’d have Fedor Emelianenko jumping up to refill his iced tea. He’d be like, “Pass the breadsticks,” and Anderson Silva would have to do it. Know why? Because only the GOAT could give up his title, go on a walkabout in search of aliens or whatever, then come right back and instantly be the champ again.

That’s why he should fight the Woodley-Thompson winner. And you know this.

John Morgan: St-Pierre’s comeback fight needs to be something epic, something special. Winning back the welterweight title he vacated in order to take his more than three-year sabbatical? That hardly seems necessary. Facing fellow MMA legend Anderson Silva? That’s an idea that would have been incredible in 2012.

No, there needs to be real history on the line, and that means a chance to become just the fourth man to win a title in two different weight classes. So, UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping, you’ve got your money fight.

Related

I could see the case for booking St-Pierre vs. Conor McGregor (especially if GSP really can make 155 pounds), but it seems right now “The Notorious” is focused entirely on a proposed boxing match with Floyd Mayweather. If that’s the case, St-Pierre doesn’t have time to wait around and let the Irishman work out those details. That leaves Bisping as the only accessible champion for St-Pierre, and it would be one heck of a financial draw.

The real stumbling block, of course, would be getting Bisping to agree to not face Yoel Romero right now, because it’s clear Bisping can’t wait to book that fight (wink, wink). But if presented with a chance to face a legend in St-Pierre, especially as an undersized middleweight who hasn’t competed in forever, Bisping would be out of his mind not to sign the contract.

It makes sense for St-Pierre and Bisping, and it’s a historical fight that checks all of the boxes rather than a booking that’s simply about a cash grab.

Anderson Silva, because, even five years late, it still would be awesome

Anderson Silva

Simon Samano: Five years ago, as boxing failed to produce Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao in their primes, the UFC flirted with booking the MMA superfight of all superfights: then-middleweight champion Anderson Silva vs. then-welterweight champion St-Pierre. UFC President Dana White even said in late 2012 that it was “likely” and would happen at a packed Cowboys Stadium. It was going to be epic.

Related

Then 2013 happened, and ugh. Silva lost twice to Chris Weidman and suffered a broken leg in the rematch, and St-Pierre stunned us all when he decided to step away following his ninth straight welterweight title defense. The window closed just like that.

But it wasn’t sealed shut! Here we are in 2017, and the UFC has the opportunity to make this happen again. It doesn’t even matter that it’s five years late. And you know why? Because the names are legendary. Because it will be good for business. And, most importantly, because five years later we’re still debating whether Silva or GSP is the GOAT, despite Silva being 1-4 in his past five fights and despite GSP’s nearly four-year layoff.

You know you want that settled for good. And if they don’t fight, you’ll always be curious.

Fernanda Prates: I thought about dropping some $$$$$$$$ signs here and just leaving it at that, but apparently my job entails words. Lame, but let’s try.

St-Pierre vs. Conor McGregor is one of those matchups that sounds almost outlandish at first, but then it starts making a somewhat alarming amount of sense. Obviously, there’s the aforementioned money factor: If these two separately are capable of doing what they have, one can only imagine the kind of figures their combined power could generate.

Spoiler: More than what the brain of a person whose disposable income doesn’t accommodate couture pocket squares can comprehend.

Related

That’s why the matchup makes sense for the UFC, GSP and McGregor. So what’s in it for the rest of us, who won’t get to fatten our custom-made Louis Vuitton wallets or expand our Bentley collections mostly because they don’t really exist? Well, we get an intriguing matchup between two freak athletes who could actually put each other in danger. I know, not as cool as a Bentley, but bear with me here.

We’re talking about an uber dominant ex-champ who beat the then-best for over half a decade, thanks to one of MMA’s most stifling grappling games and Stephen Hawking levels of octagon IQ. And then we’re talking about a borderline supernatural striker with hands as powerful as they are precise, who got two UFC belts via, well, total demolition.

But then we’ve got a 35-year-old returning after a nearly four-year layoff, who also didn’t look quite as unbeatable when he left. And we’ve got a man whose smaller frame was once a featherweight’s and who’s also shown that the closest thing he has to kryptonite is effective grappling.

Now tell me you’re not the least bit curious?

A Diaz brother, because because it might be just as fun – and lucrative

Nate Diaz

Steven Marrocco: If good ol’ “Rush” is looking to ease back into the fight game after four years gone, someone’s waiting for him. Actually, two are.

Nick Diaz has no cottonmouth when it comes to getting another fight with the former champ, his white whale and chief seller of wolf tickets at UFC 158. He’s already turned down two big offers from UFC boss White. Obviously, he’s waiting for the money one. Aside from McGregor, that’s St-Pierre.

Even though the same outcome is almost assured, put the fight in California and watch the Diaz believers show up in droves. Then wait for the pay-per-view numbers to come in.

If the elder Diaz doesn’t want it, heck, give the younger one the shot. Nate Diaz is now a bonafide draw on his own, and you can sell a brother seeking vengeance all day. It’s still the same style matchup for St-Pierre, with an enticing X-factor of time off to make people question whether he can deliver the same performance. Like I said, the answer is probably yes. But there would be a lot of people who would want to see if that’s true.